Bale Kulkul in Balinese Architecture

The bale kulkul is a tower-like structure and usually occupies a prominent position in the village. The kulkul itself is a percussive d...

Balinese Palaces

In traditional Hindu cosmology, the territory of the kingdom was conceived, in symbolic terms, as replicating the universe as a whole,...

The Balinese Village

The Balinese village us described by the world desa. This denotes both the settlement and its immediate physical environs ( tanah desa...

Ornamentation and Iconography in Balinese Temples

Balinese temples are enlivened by a variety of stone sculpture and relief which to the Western eye have an almost baroque or rococo qu...

A Typology of Temples

A conservative estimate reckons that there are some 20,000 temples in Bali. Most of the time they are deserted, watched over by a lay priest...

Death and the Afterlife in Bali

Death in Bali is considered to be both ritually polluting and contaminating. These perceptions are reflected in the location of the pura dal...

Village Temples

Balinese society is complex and multifarious, being divided by social hierarchies based on caste, occupation and descent. In the not so dist...

The Nirartha Legacy in Bali

The promulgation of Hindu and Buddhist doctrines in Bali is attributed to a number of key historical figures typically Brahman priests from ...

Sacred Rice and Subak Temples in Bali

Rice and its cultivation are central to the Balinese way of life. In Balinese eyes, rice is a gift from the gods-it was created by the Hindu...

Recent History of Bali

The end of the reign of Soeharto in 1998 threw the entire country into a maelstrom of change and turmoil. For some time it seemed that Bali ...

Modern History of Bali

It took Dutch troops five days to reach the outskirts of Denpasar. Surrounded by superior forces, Balinese royalty and religious leaders de...

Pre-20th-Century History

There are few traces of Stone Age people on Bali, although it's almost certain that the island was inhabited very early in prehistoric t...

History of Bali

Bali was inhabited by Austronesia peoples by about 2,000, who migrated originally from Taiwan through Maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally an...

Religion

Outside of India, Bali is the largest Hindu outpost in the world. Put in another way, it’s the furthest reaches of the Hindu empire. On Bali...

Bali Art

Painting T he place synonymous with the traditional form of Balinese painting is the village of Kamasan near Klungkung. In the service of th...

Bali Cultures and Customs

E ach stage of Balinese life is marked by a series of ceremonies and rituals known as Manusa Yadnya. They contribute to the rich, varied and...

Bali Natures

Bali is also blessed with a beautiful nature. Endless sand beaches envelope most of Bali's shores, where si...

Region of Bali

North Bali North Bali includes most of the Buleleng district, around Singaraja. It has a ...

About Bali

Geography One of the approximately 14,000 islands that comprise the Indonesian archipelago, B...